The Plains Beyond
by Blade Lord Lyn
Summary: The sequel to the Lands Beyond. The journey continues. . . .


OK! Now that the Lands Beyond ended on a cliffy, it's time to start the Plains Beyond! Part 2 of my 3 part fic!  
  
Chapter 1: The beginning of a legend  
  
The continent of Fadain.  
  
A short seventeen years ago, this continent was free. But then, a shadow spread across.  
  
A conqueror came, and with his army of dragons, easily defeated all the defenses of the continent, and declared himself Emperor.  
  
But then came a prophecy.  
  
"From one who defeated you first, will come another to defeat you again. . . ."  
  
Fortunately, this child was well hidden on an island in the east. This island was called Tirad, ruled by the Prime family, currently headed by Jacen.  
  
Jacen, by request of the child's mother, raised the child.  
  
This child's name was Sacae, after the homeland of her mother. . . .  
  
A warrior mounted on his white steed charged at his target. Though it's a dummy, practice is practice. He said to himself.  
  
"Jacen! Come in, it's time for breakfast!" a servant yelled from a window.  
  
"Ah, of course. I am coming." He said in reply. He dismounted his horse, and took of his armor, revealing a crimson tunic and white pants, somewhat loose around the knees. He walked in quickly to his estate, but before he got a chance to enter the dining room, he was tackled by a brown haired girl.  
  
"Good morning father!" she said.  
  
"Good morning Arveyn. How's my little princess doing?" Jacen said with a grin.  
  
"I told you not to call me that anymore. . . I'm fifteen now, I'm not 'little'." Arveyn said. Jacen's grin grew wider.  
  
"But I like calling you princess. By the way. . . where is Sacae?" he asked as he entered the dining room.  
  
"She's still sleeping. . . she was tossing and turning all night. And mumbling to. . . I'm kind of worried about her." Arveyn said with a concerned tone of voice.  
  
Jacen turned towards the table. "It's best that we eat now, though." He said.  
  
As Jacen and Arveyn began to eat, a girl with long, viridian hair and light brown eyes walked in. She wore a simple light green dress, and was currently barefoot.  
  
"Good morning everyone." She said with a yawn.  
  
"Took you long enough, Sacae." Arveyn said. "You seem tired, still."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Sacae said as she sat at the table. "So, father, what are we doing today?"  
  
"We're going to visit one of the surrounding villages and speak with the people. It's important to know the situation of the people under you." Jacen said.  
  
Their food was then put on the table by a servant – there was ripe fruit and two loaves of bread. Jacen, Arveyn and Sacae quickly ate so they could leave early. After they ate, Arveyn and Sacae changed. Sacae wore a light green tunic with a skirt down to her knees with slits on both sides. She had brown high riding boots and a pair of dark green earrings, with a small pendant hanging from her neck. She also had a sheath adorned with markings resting on her hip. Arveyn wore a light brown blouse with a white skirt slightly above her knees. She wore riding boots that went to her ankles, and had a sheath that hooked onto her shoulder and went down to the small of her back. After changing, they went to go to the stable, where Jacen's horse was. He mounted the white steed quickly, and they soon went to the nearby village of Sounble.  
  
But upon their arrival, only shock could grace their faces.  
  
There was a small legion of bandits, about twenty, that were attacking the village. They were burning buildings and attacking people. Some were even dragging women to some unknown location.  
  
"We have to help them!" Sacae said.  
  
"Stay back, you two. I'll handle this." Jacen said, determination written all over his face.  
  
"We can't just let you do this by yourself father. We'll help you!" Arveyn said.  
  
Maybe I should. . . they'll have to fight a real battle one day. Jacen thought.  
  
"Fine." He said. "You can fight with me. But be careful! Though they wield axes and you wield swords, do not underestimate them by any means. We'll go after their leader." Jacen said.  
  
He rode forward to a bandit that was attacking a young man and his family, and with a flick of his wrist, the bandit's head flew off easily. He continued deeper into the village to look for more bandits – and their leader.  
  
Sacae and Arveyn followed him into the village, but eventually strayed away from the Master Knight. Two bandits suddenly leaped outside after looting a store, seeing the two girls.  
  
"Well whaddya got here? Two lil' ladies, just fer us? Aww, look at our luck." Said the taller of the two.  
  
"We'll knock 'em out, then drag 'em back to the boss, right?" said the shorter, slighter fatter bandit.  
  
"Well, of course, we'll have a bit o' fun with 'em. . . ." the taller one said with a green.  
  
"We won't lose!" Arveyn said. She pulled a Slim Sword from her sheath and ran at the fat bandit. As she neared the bandit, she spun and slashed, striking him down easily.  
  
Sacae shifted her left leg back before she ran at the taller bandit. She drew her sword quickly and slashed across, but the bandit managed to block it with his axe. He swung his axe around so Sacae's Slim Sword would flip up into the air, leaving her defenseless, but she saw the move coming, and moved her wrist to follow the bandits' motion. She then cut downwards, leaving a gash on her opponent's chest. In a desperate attempt, the bandit raised his axe for a direct attack, but Sacae saw that attack coming as well. She ran at him quickly, striking at the same spot she did before, killing her opponent. Sacae looked towards Arveyn.  
  
"Are you all right, Arveyn?" Sacae asked.  
  
"No problem. Piece of cake!" Arveyn replied with a grin.  
  
They continued to wander the village until they found a group of bandits surrounding someone.  
  
"Is that another one of their victims?" Arveyn whispered to Sacae.  
  
"It could be. . . but they haven't attacked him. Maybe it's their leader." Sacae replied quietly.  
  
Suddenly, the group of bandits spread out, and the one in the center stepped forward. He wore no shirt, but was very muscular. He wore tight, brown pants and held a large, Silver Axe.  
  
"Weak peasants, hear my name and tremble! I am the legendary assassin, OAK!" he said.  
  
The bandits began to cheer on this man with eagerness.  
  
"Tell 'em what we gonna do, boss!" said one bandit.  
  
"This village will be our base. Then we'll take the castle! This will be my legacy!"  
  
They all heard a cocky smirk from above them.  
  
"Humph. You can't be OAK." Said a figure cloaked in darkness.  
  
That voice sounds feminine. . . perhaps it's a girl? Sacae thought. Averyn and Sacae continued to watch in earnest.  
  
"Show yourself!" said the bandits' leader.  
  
The figure came out of the darkness. Sacae noticed the black hair that flowed down her back. Definitely a girl. Sacae thought. The girl wore a tight, black shirt, with baggy black pants. She wore a hood that covered her face, but it was cut in the back so black hair could cascade down her back.  
  
The girl slowly lifted her hood.  
  
"Now that you've seen my face. . . "Said the girl. "I'll have to kill you. For I am the true OAK, the 13th in the family line to inherit this title." She said.  
  
"Yeah, OK, pretty girly. Just come to papa. . ." said the bandits' leader. "But before I kill you and take your title permanently, just so you know – my name is Gresse."  
  
"Humph." OAK said simply. She jumped off the roof she was on, then vanished. Then, suddenly, bandit after bandit began to collapse with blood gushing out of them. A couple of bandits' necks were expertly broken. OAK reappeared in front of Gresse.  
  
"Do you really want to fight me?" She asked.  
  
Sacae looked towards Ayvern, who was breathing oddly.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sacae asked.  
  
"I – I think I'm. . . .ACHOOOO!"  
  
Gresse and OAK both looked at the box where the noise came from, and two young girls stepped up from behind them.  
  
"Listen, bandit." Sacae said. "I will. . . no, I can never forgive you for what you've done to these people. Surrender now, or I will battle you to the death."  
  
Gresse laughed at Sacae's comment.  
  
"Surrender? To you? That's pretty funny!" he said, laughing some more. "All right, I'll fight you. Step aside 'OAK', I'll kill this broad first, and then I'll kill you, all right?" Gresse said, still laughing.  
  
OAK could only smirk at his comment.  
  
"Underestimation will kill you." She said simply.  
  
Gresse turned to face the Sacae, the Junior Lord.  
  
"Let's get started." He said. He ran at her, axe twirling madly as he attempted to cut off her sword arm. Sacae slipped easily away from his untrained attack.  
  
"You call yourself by my title with such unrefined technique." OAK said emotionlessly.  
  
Sacae jumped back, preparing to attack Gresse. But as she did an image flashed into her mind.  
  
It was a woman, older than her. She held her sword in the same basic stance as Sacae. She unsheathed her sword, put her sword arm behind her back as she shifted her left leg forward and bent her right knee. The woman vanished, but two slices could be heard in the air. The woman's opponent fell dead.  
  
Gresse reappeared in Sacae's vision. Might I be able to mimic this technique? She thought.  
  
Sacae attempted to copy the technique. Right knee bent, left leg forward, sword arm behind, other arm outstretched. She put all the power she could in her legs so she could run fast enough to create an afterimage of herself, slicing at Gresse twice. She reappeared in the same spot as she began, panting and attempting to catch her breath.  
  
Gresse fell to the ground. He didn't speak a word as life seeped away from his body.  
  
OAK walked to Sacae.  
  
"Good job. You are good enough to afterimage, I see."  
  
"Afterimage? What is that?" Sacae asked. "It's the act of using enhanced speed to seemingly vanish." OAK said. She turned around, preparing to leave the village.  
  
"You are pretty good." OAK said. "Tell no one of my face, and I'll let you live." OAK said before vanishing.  
  
"We should find father now." Arveyn said. She was still a bit shaken up from what she saw.  
  
"I agree. Let's go." Sacae said.  
  
Yes! I finished! Just so you know, the second chapter is the Class Chart and form to join. Just email it to   
  
Thank you!  
  
Oh yeah, old characters from the Lands Beyond will be in this fic to. 


End file.
